Tuesday, January 5, 2016

Best Concerts of 2015

2015 was another great year for live music in the Bay Area.
In compiling this list, I noted that I gravitated towards intimate venues
rather than sheds or big auditoriums and may need to get out and hear more
Americana music next year. These 10
picks are listed in chronological order, so no ranking is implied.

Phil Lesh and Friends. 1.2.15, 2/8/15. Terrapin Crossroads.
In addition to all of the hoopla surrounding the Fare The Well shows that
reunited the Core Four of the Grateful Dead, bassist Phil Lesh planned his own
celebration of the band’s history by playing a series of shows at Terrapin
Crossroads, each commemorating a year of the band’s history from 1965-81. I
went to a number of these shows, but I think my favorite was the first, on the
second day of the new year, which celebrated the band’s bar band roots. Lesh, augmented by guitarists Stu Allan, Scott
Law, and Ross James, keyboardist Jeff Chimenti, and drummer Cody Dickinson,
played one long set that blended covers of the day (“Off the Hook,” Twist and
Shout” with the Dead’s early garage band-influenced tunes like “Mindbender” and
“The Only Time is Now.” James sang tunes like “I’m a Hog For You Baby” and
“Caution.” The guitarists played era-appropriate instruments, and clearly put a
lot of work into summoning up an authentic vintage sound for this fun trip back
to the mid 1960s.

A few weeks later, Lesh played one his improvisational
“Telstar” sessions with a unique band comprising Lesh, Law, Dickinson, ALO
guitarist Lebo, and Particle keyboardist Steve Molitz. The single 80 minute set
meandered through themes from several Dead songs, but the most exciting parts
occurred when the group abandoned those structures entirely, leading to some
exciting interactions between Lesh, Molitz, and Lebo.

Christian McBride Trio. 2/20/15. Kuumbwa Jazz Center. I see
bassist Christian McBride every chance I get, and this was the first time I had
seen him with his trio, which is rounded out by pianist Christian Sands and
drummer Ulysses Owens Jr. Playing a set balancing standards and new
compositions, the trio played with virtuosity and exuberance. Sands’ dazzling
playing was a highlight, but Owens and McBride never dropped the beat, and the three worked together like a playfully well-oiled machine.

David Nelson and Eric Thompson. House Concert 5/3/15. After
playing a number of shows as the core of the Black Mountain Jungle Boys, guitarists
Nelson and Thompson, friends and collaborators since the early 1960s, performed
a number of duo shows last year, including this memorable afternoon set in Los
Altos. The duo mostly drew on the
traditional folk and bluegrass tunes that have been in both of their regular
repertoires since their earliest performing careers, and regaled the
enthusiastic audience with tales of their early days hanging out on the
mid-Peninsula, playing with Jerry Garcia, and devouring Harry Smith’s Anthology
of Folk Music. Just a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Marcus Miller. 8/24/15. Kuumbwa Jazz Center. Touring behind
his latest album, Afrodesia, bassist and composer Marcus Miller and his
splendid septet squeezed onto the relatively cozy Kuumbwa stage for a brilliant
evening of world music-infused funk jazz. Drawing mostly from the new album, which
explores the African and Caribbean roots of jazz, Miller and company blended
catchy originals like the set opening “Highlife” with an extended version of
“Papa Was a Rolling Stone.

Chick Corea Trio. 9.12.15. Miner Auditorium. This was the third
of four concerts, each with a different configuration, that Chick Corea
performed for SF Jazz as part of his 2015 residency in Miner Auditorium. The
trio, comprising Corea on piano, McBride on standup bass, and Blade on drums,
lived up to its pedigree as a jazz supergroup featuring three experienced
bandleaders.

Jorma Kaukonen. 11/8/15. Kuumbwa Jazz Center. It’s always a
treat to see Jorma, whether solo or with some configuration of Hot Tuna, but it
was really special to see him in an intimate listening room like Kuumbwa. His
set featured many of the tunes Kaukonen has been playing since his folk club
days in the early 1960s, along with much of the core repertoire from his many
years in Hot Tuna and a handful of newer songs that find the guitarist coming
to terms with his stage in life. Kaukonen seems happy and content, and this
warm, engaging concert was as close as I’ll ever get to hearing him play in his
living room.

North Mississippi Allstars. 12/5/15. Terrapin Crossroads.
Cody and Luther Dickinson have been playing regularly with Phil Lesh for the
last couple of years, and this was the second time the duo played their own
show at Lesh’s San Rafael clubhouse. The evening started with the two
Dickinsons playing several extended and gorgeous improvisations on a pair of
Les Pauls. Next, Cody assumed his usual position behind the drum kit and they
were joined by new bassist Ron Johnson and guest keyboardist Jason Crosby for a
few songs. The long first set ended with Lesh replacing Thompson for a 35
minute, all instrumental min-Telstar which went some strange and wonderful
places, with Luther and Lesh egging one another further and further out of
their comfort zones.

Charlie Hunter Trio. Kuumbwa Jazz Center 12/7/15. Charlie
Hunter always returns to the Bay Area over the holidays, but this year, rather
than doing his usual duo show with bay area percussionist Scott Amendola, he
came with his New York trio which also includes drummer Bobby Previte and
trombone player Curtis Fowlkes. What seemed like an odd instrumental lineup
turned out to be an inspired combination. Fowlkes coaxed a mellow, almost
trumpet-like tone out of his trombone during quiet passages and sparred
playfully with Hunter’s soulful seven string guitar and Previte’s aggressive
drumming.

The Bad Plus Joshua Redman. 12.12.15 Miner Auditorium, SF
Jazz Center. Touring behind their recent joint release, Berkeley sax player
Joshua Redman and New York jazz trio The Bad Plus played a delightfully chill
set for SF Jazz as part of their four night run at the Miner Auditorium. Redman
has really upped his instrumental game in the last couple of years and he has
found a set of kindred spirits in the Bad Plus.

About Me

Michael Parrish has been writing about rock, folk, bluegrass, world music, and jazz for two decades in publications including the Chicago Tribune, Dirty Linen, Sing Out!, Down Beat, and the Deadhead's Taping Compendia. In his real life, Parrish is a university administrator